My Eternal Regret
by KurenoxArisaxx
Summary: After the tragic murder of her friend Yuki, Akane has a very disturbing yet painfully truthful nightmare. A Kougami x Akane 2 chapter fic. Set in season 1. Fanart for the cover image is by Sasakura34 on Twitter
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Psycho Pass and the characters don't belong to me. They belong to Gen Urobuchi.**_

 _ **So this was an idea I got while thinking up various headcanons regarding Akane. This was one of my personal favorite headcanons, so I decided to turn it into a fic.**_

 _ **EDIT**: So, I realized AFTER the fact that Kou's hospitalized right after Yuki's death. Which means, I messed up the facts in this fic with Kou being back at work a week later (I know he got released early from the hospital in the anime but Im not sure how long his stay actually was), so all I can say is...screw the rules, I'm a fanfic writer (some of you may or may not get what I'm referring to here).**_

* * *

 _I let her die without doing anything.  
_

 _I let her die without doing anything._

 _I was right there. If I could have just thrown the Dominator down and used that rifle instead, Yuki would still be..._

"Tsunemori."

A deep male voice broke the Inspector known as Akane Tsunemori out of her daydream. The pale-skinned female turned around in her chair so she could face the person who had just called out to her. Putting on a brave front, the twenty-year old forced a smile at the man with glasses who stood there with his arms crossed,

"Sorry, Ginoza. What was that?"

The man known as Nobuchika Ginoza; also an Inspector and Akane's superior; simply frowned down at the girl without response. An awkward few seconds passed before the man turned, waving a hand while mumbling under his breath, "Never mind. Back to work."

Akane just blinked as she watched the older man walk away, wondering if she had angered him again. Though that wouldn't surprise her if she had, since that's all she ever seemed to do when it came to that him.

 _I was thinking about it again. I can't allow myself to keep getting distracted like this._

One thing had been buzzing about in Akane's mind for the last week, and it hadn't disappeared from her conscious, not even once. Not when she was awake, nor when she slept. No matter what she did, one memory stuck like the strongest of glue in her mind without mercy. It had been torturing her like mad, so it was a shock to her that her crime coefficient hadn't gotten any worst because of it. Even so, that didn't change the fact that the emotional scars she received seven days ago were still wide open and fresh. Akane knew they weren't going to close anytime soon either.

"I'm taking my lunch." Yayoi Kunizuka said from across the room before leaving.

A few seconds later, Akane heard the other two Enforcers on the team: Kagari Shuusei and Tomomi Masaoka also stated they were taking their lunch. Between her thoughts, the young detective heard Gino give them the okay to go.

Perhaps she should take her lunch. Maybe it would give her a little more room to breath. Maybe food would help take her mind off these horrible thoughts, even if only for a mere second.

 _...I let Yuki die._

No...of course not. How foolish of her to think that she could escape it. Lunch would be no different then what she was doing right now: sitting at her desk, staring blankly at the holo screen of her computer. Still, she had to do SOMETHING. If she didn't, though her hue wouldn't darken, she was sure she'd go mad.

Just at the moment, almost as if he had read her mind, Enforcer Shinya Kougami who still remained at his desk turned his head in Akane's direction, "Maybe you should take your lunch as well, Inspector."

Tsunemori just stared blankly at the handsome hunting dog, not really sure how to respond. However, before she could say anything, Gino chimed in with a stern tone, "Go. It's obvious you need some break time. Now get out of here and I don't want to see you back until that clock hits 1:30."

Without argument, Akane grabbed her things and headed out the office door. All the while, the eyes of Kougami and Ginoza never leaving Akane's depressed figure.

* * *

 _Huh? Where am I?_

Akane looked around, a little confused. She had just been heading to the PSB's cafeteria, and yet; judging by the dimly lit and unrecognizable surroundings, the woman was sure she wasn't in the bureau anymore. What was even more odd was how pitch dark it was. Akane looked down at her watch to see the time read 12:55. It was still early noon, so why the hell was it as black as nighttime?

"How did I even get here..."

The brunette tried walking a few steps in hopes her confusion would be lessened. After several minutes of nonstop walking, the girl's efforts unfortunately proved fruitless.

But wait.

It wasn't just the surroundings that had changed. Akane stopped walking and stared at her feet. She knew she had been on her way to lunch when she suddenly ended up in this place. Other than that though...the Inspector had no recollection of anything else. Specifically what thoughts she had been having the moment prior to ending up in wherever she stood now.

"I feel like I'm forgetting something very important..." Akane thought aloud, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was positive something had slipped her mind. But just what on earth was it? Could it have been about a case? Or perhaps something had happened with one of the other Division one members? No, no, that didn't feel right. Just what the hell had she been thinking? What couldn't she remember? The frustration of not being able to recall anything combined with the fact that she had no idea where she was was just enough to make the normally calm girl a little bit shaken.

Still, this was no time to be freaking out. Akane tried to take deep breaths in an effort to keep her calm. She knew from her experience as a detective that fear was something she could never let her rule her. If it did, she was sure to get hurt or worst out in the field. That's something Shinya Kougami had taught her when she had first joined the MWPSB.

"I just need to keep my breathing steady and not let this situation rule me. Maybe if I try calling-" Akane lifted her arm to take a look at her watch. However, what she saw on her wrist was not what she expected. A sticky crimson clung to her in various spots all up and down her arm. She wasn't sure where it had come from or why it was there. Even so, it didn't take the female long to identify what it was, because the smell made it quite obvious. After all, she knew this retched smell all too well now.

Blood.

As if she had been hit by an invisible force, Akane fell a few steps backwards; only to be startled by a sudden splashing sound each time her foot moved. The woman froze, trying to get a good look around her. It was so dark though. However, she knew a pool was surrounding her up to her knees. Akane could feel the liquid sinking into her shoes, sticking to her legs and thighs without warning. It was becoming progressively harder to remain calm now, but she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her now. If there was one thing she was proud of when it came to her occupation as a detective, it was her strong mental health. Although she was certain of one thing: Akane knew was that she had to get out of this place, and fast.

Struggling against the thick waters around her, Akane tried to move forward. The smell grew thicker and thicker the farther she went. Eventually, it became too much for the woman to bear. Akane stopped to catch her breath but nearly gagged when she caught a big whiff. She covered her mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit right there.

"D-Damn it..." Akane shut her eyes and began rubbing away at them. The smell was so powerful that it not only burned her mouth and nose, but her eyes as well. Almost like two hot knives sticking straight into her sockets. Akane kept her eyes shut for a moment in hopes the burning sensation would stop. After a few more breaths, the girl opened her eyes which were suddenly hit with a near blinding light, which made the burning twice as bad. It took a minute, but after her hazel orbs adjusted; Akane was able to clearly see what was around her. Like she had though from the smell and similar feeling; the amateur detective stood in not a pool, but more accurately speaking, an ocean of blood.

"W-What's going on?" Akane stumbled in shock as she looked from her blood-covered limbs down into the endless red before her. She wasn't sure what was worst: the sight or the smell. Either way, Akane couldn't take anymore. Turning around with the idea of going back the way she came, Tsunemori made a move to start running. However, just before she could raise her leg, a familiar voice echoed from behind her.

"Where are you going, Akane?"

The twenty-year old immediately halted. She knew that voice. It was a voice she had been hearing ever since her high school days. It was also a voice that, now, was enough to bring tears to her eyes. Slowly turning around; a lump forming in her throat as she spun, Akane felt her heartbeat slow down when a figure of a thin girl with beautiful wavy orange hair came into view.

"Y-Yuki?" Akane choked, now more confused then ever.

There her best friend of several years stood, in nothing more than her nightgown with her hair drenched down her shoulders. For some reason, Yuki didn't seem the least bit frightened by where they were nor did she seem confused or surprised that Akane was standing in this strange place with her. It was odd for the girl to be so calm, as Akane always knew her friend to be the more emotional type when it came to dark places or being lost.

"What are you doing here, Yuki?" Akane asked, forcing a small smile as she reached out to touch the young woman.

Just as Akane's fingertips came into touching range with Yuki's arm, the woman's voice stopped Akane in her tracks, "Where were you going just now?"

"Huh?"

Yuki's head lowered enough so that her bangs were falling over her eyes, hiding her expression from the Inspector. For some reason, the beautiful woman began scratching away at her throat with the tips of her nails as if she had an overwhelming itch that she couldn't bare any longer. This action kept up for the three minutes it was silent between the two. Akane standing there in awe while Yuki just scraped away at her bare neck. It was odd to Akane. Just how bad could that itch be? She had been scratching for so long now, and the motion seemed to be getting faster and harder with each second that passed.

Soon, the young Inspector couldn't take watching this anymore, and spoke out, "Yuki, I don't think you should be scratching like that. Did you get some of the blood on you?" When Yuki didn't respond, Akane decided to take matters into her own hands. As such, the girl grabbed Yuki's arms and forcibly tore her hands away from her neck that now had red marks on it from all the attention it had just got. Akane took hold of her best friend's wrist and turned, determined to still get out of this hell, no matter what it took.

However, Yuki didn't seem to agree with Akane's idea, because despite the fact that her friend was trying to walk her out of this place; the orange-haired beauty stood firm, refusing to move and still saying nothing.

"Yuki? What are you doing?" Akane asked, looking back at her who seemed to still be hiding her face behind her long, wavy bangs. The detective couldn't understand what Yuki was thinking. In the past, sure, there had been times when Akane didn't quite follow Yuki's mindset or the things that she did, but now it was especially unsettling. Here they stood, in an unfamiliar place; a place that would make any normal citizen's hue cloud to the darkest of colors within one minute of being in there. Of course Akane was able to keep calm for the moment, because she had begun to get used to being in dark, scary places thanks to her job. Yet Yuki, a perfectly normal person, remained still like a doll. There was a moment when Akane thought that maybe her friend was just so ruled by fear, that she couldn't move, but...there seemed to be more to it than that. Ever since she had appeared, Yuki had been acting...strange.

"Hey..." Akane let go of Yuki's hand and leaned in, trying to get a look at her face. Just as the brunette was getting within seeing range, Yuki's lips finally parted,

"You were going to leave me here all alone."

"Huh?" Akane jumped, startled by the sudden comment. Sweating a bit, Akane let out an awkward laugh as she rose one of her small eyebrows, "What are you saying? Of course I wasn't-"

"You were!"

Akane froze, her eyes widening greatly from the shout. She had never heard Yuki scream that loud before.

At least...she didn't think she had.

...Had she...?

 _"HELP ME...AKANE!"_

Time seemed to stop right there. Grabbing her head, Akane's face fell a great deal. She could feel her heart racing now. Beads of cold sweat were streaming down her cheeks as her breathing labored. One of the hands on her head moved down to one of her ears, covering it as her entire body began trembling like mad.

"W-What was that...?"

Something was forming in Akane's mind right then. The picture was very blurry, and surrounded by what almost seemed like a white mist. Akane shut her eyes, hoping to make the picture clearer. She saw...Yuki. Wearing the same clothes she was at this very moment, only...her expression. The horrified look on her face. Her mouth was wide open and crying out. Akane shut her eyes even tighter which caused another blur to become a little clearer. There was...someone beside Yuki. A...person. Specifically a man in white. He was holding something to what appeared to be Yuki's neck. Just as the image was becoming completely clear, Akane eyes snapped open when she felt a horribly strong force grab hold of her.

The Inspector's hazel eyes shot open only to see Yuki standing within only a few inches of Akane. Before she could say anything or even jump back, Yuki's hand gripped onto Akane's arm and hard. So hard that Akane could feel Yuki's fingers making imprints on her skin. The force only got more worst by the minute. Soon it became so bad that the strong-willed female couldn't take any more.

"Y-Yuki...stop it. You're hurting-" Akane lifted her head to glance up at Yuki. Only the sight she was enough to turn her stomach a hundred times over.

There Yuki stood, the one hand still holding tightly onto Akane. The free one was back to clawing away at her neck. Not scratching this time, but clawing. Her nails seemed to be digging so deep into her her flesh, that skin was beginning to peal off with each stab. Blood seeped out through the openings made in her neck, making splashing sounds as they joined with the rest of the red pool around them. Yuki's hair still hung over her face, and the only thing Akane could see from her neck and above was the one lone eye that was glaring down at her through her bangs.

"Why, Akane?"

Said girl flinched, fear overcoming every other emotion she was feeling at long last. The unimaginable terror Akane continued to grow progressively worst as she was stared up at the person who was supposed to be her best friend. Suddenly, Yuki's grip became even more powerful, causing Akane to let out a shriek of pain.

Between the agonized moans, Akane begged, "W-What's gotten into you, Yuki...?"

A cracking sound echoed from in between Yuki's palm and Akane's wrist. The detective dropped to her knees, teeth clenched as tight as could be.

At last, Yuki released Akane's hand. However, the girl didn't look back up at Yuki. Instead she remained doubled over in pain while holding onto her arm that was now most likely broken down to the bone. As she laid there, Akane heard Yuki begin to slowly trail through the sea of blood around them, slowly and steadily. As she did, Yuki began mumbling something over and over, but her voice was so quiet that it made it impossible for Akane to make out.

"...ur fault..."

Akane glanced up weakly for a moment, wondering what Yuki looked like now. She was sure she honestly didn't want to know, but the detective needed to look anyways.

Suddenly, Yuki stopped pacing. Her back facing was facing Akane as her voice grew to its normal volume now, making it easy for Akane to hear what she had been mumbling before.

"It's all your fault."

Akane's glance became a full-blown stare now, her eyes locking onto Yuki's figure like a sniper gun and its target. Trembling eyes began to water a little as that disturbing voice shrieked in Akane's mind again.

 _"HELP ME...AKANE!"_

Akane felt her heart jump in her chest. The voice in her mind had become even louder than it had before as well as clearer. The sound was so powerful that it felt like it was coming from right behind the female officer. It was obvious now that it was Yuki who was crying out in her head. But why? Did this have something to do with the memories she had lost when she entered this place? Why the hell couldn't she remember? What was going on? Why the hell was Yuki acting like-

Akane shot a look upward as her mind went to another time. Memories began to overflow like a waterfall in an instant as another voice joined Yuki inside the center of the frightened girl's mind.

 _"Not enough resolve; how very regrettable for you. Your failure has cost your friend's life."_

Akane grabbed her head and began shaking her face, denying the man's voice that was scolding her. Though it didn't matter how much she tried to ignore the memories that were flying back to her now. The more Akane tried to unhear the words, the stronger her heart throbbed with a pain so great, it felt as if it would kill her at any moment.

 _"You've disappointed me, so I'll have to give you your punishment."_

 _"...NO! AKANE...!"_

Akane's face froze instantly as she felt a 'snap'. The next sentence that came next in Akane's flashback felt like a bullet directly shot into her pounding heart.

 _"Regret helplessness, Akane...and feel true despair."_

"Listen to me." Came a growl that sounded almost demonic. Like Satan himself. This voice was enough to shatter Akane's flashback like fragile glass. The horrible sound was unlike anything Akane had heard before. There was no possible way it could be Yuki's voice, is what Tsunemori thought to herself as she gripped her chest out of anxiety.

...Perhaps not.

Akane felt a presence shadowing over her like a giant statue. The pressure from it alone was enough to send chills up Tsunemori's spine. Just as the twenty-year old began to lift her face to look up, she felt something splash against her face. A wet substance flowed down her cheek and dripped off the tip of her chin. A reflection soon appeared in Akane's brown orbs.

Hands suddenly reached out from above Akane and grabbed hold of her face tightly, making any feeling the MWPSB worker had left in her body vanish within a millisecond. She could feel her face being pulled closer to whatever was holding her. What made things worst that; the closer she got, the smaller Akane's pupils became. All she could see was a mix of pale, crimson, and orange. It seemed as if they were all thrown together in some sort of blob form. However, when after her heartbeat calmed down after a few seconds, the girl's senses were finally able to catch up to her. Akane was able to finally make out what had growled like an animal and took hold of her.

...A small cracking sound echoed in the back of Akane's ear as her lips formed to make one word:

 _"_ Yuki."

The blob suddenly turned into the form of the Inspector's friend, but this time, her face was barely identifiable. Akane had no idea how it had happened but there were bruises and scrapes all over Yuki's body. Her hair was a wrangled mess. Tears of blood were flowing down Yuki's death-colored face. Through the red, you could barely make out her chocolate orbs that looked like nothing more than mere black dots now.

That wasn't even the worst of it.

Unable to speak, Akane's trembling eyes slowly made their way down to were the blood from Yuki's face seemed to be falling. Yuki's neck is where Akane's complete attention turned. It was horrible and utterly stomach churning to look at. There, in the middle of Yuki's once soft neck was a large gash that was stained with a fresher and redder tint of blood. To add to the disturbance, small moving objects seemed to be coming out from the gash. After a moment of observing, Akane could see that those 'objects' were actually maggots; and they were seeping out of the wound on Yuki's neck in hand fulls.

Akane slapped a hand over her mouth when she felt her throat burn with acid. A few of the maggots rained down and landed on Akane's shirt, making it all the harder to fight back the vomit her stomach desperately wanted to give up.

"Listen to me, I said." Yuki suddenly spoke, running her hands from Akane's cheeks down to the front of her slender neck. Firm fingers wrapped their way around Akane's skin. It was then that the Inspector's throat began to feel as if it was being forced to close in on itself. Air was completely shut off as the fingers and hands on Akane's neck gripped hard enough to make the girl gag.

The amateur detective's head fell backwards from the strangling. Akane's eyes were shaking in her sockets like crazy as her vision became terribly blurry and dark. All her senses except for sound seemed to fly away with the oxygen that she had just been breathing in a moment beforehand.

"It's your fault. It's your fault. It's all your fault."

Akane's eyes began rolling back in her head as she tried to choke out Yuki's name once more.

"Why, Akane? Why? Why didn't you-" Like before, Yuki's voice turned into that of a demon from hell, "...save me?"

A line of saliva leaked out from the corner of Akane's barely parted lips. Her pupils had completely disappeared now, leaving only the white around her eyes in sight.

"If only...if only I'd never met you. If only you hadn't joined the safety bureau!"

Akane's mouth twitched between the low gasps for air.

More tears of blood poured from Yuki's eyes as she began shaking her friend with her hands still holding onto Akane's neck, "IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU, I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO DIE!"

Akane's eyes suddenly appeared when another flood of flashbacks poured into her mind.

 ** _-Flashback-_**

 _"The intelligence of science finally uncovered the secret of our souls. And our society has changed drastically because of it. Free will has been stripped from the equation."  
_

 _"Shougo Makishima..." Akane glared up at the white-haired man standing on the platform above her. She kept the Dominator pointed on him, despite the fact that it refused to judge the serial murderer that currently had Yuki in his clutches._

 _"Let Yuki go!" The agent of Sibyl demanded once more.  
_

 _Makishima shook his head as he displayed the knife in his free hand, the far away figure of Akane reflecting in the blade._

 _"As long as you're Sibyl's puppet, you can never experience judging someone by your own hands. That's the weight of decision and free will." Makishima nodded his head down to the object that had just been tossed at Akane's feet, "If you really want to end this, take up that weapon and shoot me."  
_

 _There was a small amount of hesitation before Akane reached down and picked up the riffle. Her arm shook greatly when she tried to balance both guns in her arms, doing her best to point the barrels at Makishima's body._

 _The handsome male's lips curled up for just a moment, his yellow eyes darkening for a brief moment, ""Feel it. The importance of life resting gingerly against your fingertip."  
_

 _"I'm warning you once last time! Let her go or I'll-"_

 _"Kill me and for once in your life, lay claim to your own soul? That would be a rather ironic ending in its own way."  
_

 _Akane shut her eyes tightly as she bent her finger back on the riffle, pulling the trigger. The gunshot rang out, ripping into Akane's eardrums. She carefully opened an eye to see if the shot had connected. It had not only missed, but completely shot away from Makishima._

 _The man stared down at Akane with a greatly disapproving look painted on his pale face, "Not enough resolve; how very regrettable for you. Your failure has cost your friend's life."  
_

 _Yuki screamed as her head was suddenly yanked backwards, making her neck a complete target for Shougo's wrath._

 _Not knowing what else to do, Akane returned the Dominator's aim back to Makishima, "D-Don't! Please!"_

 _Makishima lifted his knife to Yuki's throat, placing the blade right to where her jugular resided, ""You've disappointed me. So I have to give you your punishment."  
_

 _Tears began forming in the corners of the usually so calm Inspector's eyes as her heart clenched in agony._

 _Between her own cries, Yuki mumbled Akane's name as she felt the blade sink a little further into her neck as she came face-to-face with her inevitable death._

 _Though his hands were on the body of the trembling woman in his grasp, Makishima's gaze stayed completely focused on Akane as he gripped the end of the knife firmly, ""Regret helplessness, Akane. And feel true despair." For a moment, the murderer shut his eyes calmly.  
_

 _Akane felt her heartbeat cease as she screamed louder than she had ever done in her life, "YUKI, NOOO!"_

 _Makishima lifted his head and opened his eyes. It was no sooner that the blade sliced right into Yuki's neck. The only thing Akane heard other than the sound of her own screech, was the skin on Yuki's neck violently ripping apart at the sides to the center._

 _A few moments later, the low echos of footsteps walking away and the dripping of blood were all that cried out in that dark, horrible room. The same room where Akane now sat on her knees, staring up at the corpse of her friend that hung right above her._

 ** _-End Flashback-_**

"...Yu...ki..." Akane choked out, still in said woman's grip. Tears streamed down the law-protector's cheeks while her eyes darkened in the very same despair Shougo Makishima himself had ordered her to feel on that horrible night that she recalled taking place only a week ago. The same night where Yuki, Akane's best friend of so many years, had perished horribly.

Without even a warning, Yuki released Akane from her hold; dropping her to the ground where she laid for the next minute or so as she tried to catch her breath. Once Akane had stopped coughing, she could hear Yuki trotting through the blood once again. As Funahara strolled, her arms hugged onto herself strongly.

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and crooked her head back in Akane's direction, "I don't understand, Akane. You were right there. You could have killed him. That man even threw you a rifle. But instead of shooting him, you dropped the gun after not even so much as a minute of holding it."

Akane's brown orbs became a miserable grey as Yuki's depressed face reflected in them, "Yuki, I..."

The frown on Yuki's lips flinched a moment before the corners of her mouth turned up. The deceased woman spun all the way around so that Akane could see the agonized and forced smile that she was wearing as more blood tears dripped down from the outside of her eyes that were no longer white, but pitch black instead.

"Did you hate me that much? Is that why you didn't do your job and protect me, Akane?"

Akane fell back a little, the obvious sadness on her face turning into a despair filled look of regret. She opened her mouth to speak but no words would come. The Inspector was at an utter loss of what to say. Everything Yuki had told her was true. Why didn't she use the rifle to kill Makishima back then? If she had, Yuki would have survived. No one else would have had to become a victim of his crimes anymore. Maybe even Kougami would have gotten some closure, knowing the sick bastard who had been responsible for the death of his late best friend Sasayama was down in hell, suffering for his crimes. If Akane had just had better aim. If she had just let go of the Dominator and focused on shooting properly at Makishima, things wouldn't have turned out like this.

"If only you had gathered up enough resolve." Came a different voice from directly behind Akane.

The Inspector jumped up and shot her gaze in the direction of the person who had just spoken to her. There, in the blood, stood Shougo Makishima. His white clothes surprisingly free of any stains from the crimson liquid at his feet, unlike Akane who couldn't help but be completely soaked in the bloody ocean.

"I told you before, Akane Tsunemori," Makishima began as he walked towards Akane's trembling figure. He kept his hands in his pockets and a smile upon his face as he inched closer, "Thanks to the Sibyl system, too many humans have lost their ability to make choices based on their own free will. No one makes decisions for themselves these days. They have no idea just how much of their soul has been stripped of them. Blinded by Sibyl's vision, everyone refuses to see the truth. Including an Inspector such as yourself."

Makishima was now within breathing distance of Akane, his face leaning down towards hers. Soon his nose was nearly touching Akane's. The smirk on the man's face grew in size as his yellow orbs matched with her hazel ones, "Following something so blindly, not seeing the truth that's laid out right before you...it's only a matter of time before you all pay for a world like that. Ironically enough, you have already seen what the cost could entail, and first-hand no less. It's almost laughable you claim yourself to be a detective; a person to pass judgement on latent criminals and the like, when you yourself cannot pass any form of judgement on anybody. There are no words to describe how pathetic you are."

Akane could feel Shougo's cold fingers gripping the tip of her chin which sent a chill directly up her tingling spine. She wanted to retort back at him, tell him how wrong he was. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Akane tried, she could think up no such argument. It was then that the detective felt her legs collapse into the ocean, almost as if she were in quick sand. However, Yuki and Makishima didn't sink. Akane alone continued to fall deeper and deeper into the blood as she listened to Makishima speak. All the while, Makishima stood over her, watching the troubled girl fall with a confident sneer as he continued on with his lecture of society.

"Shouldn't it be painfully clean now? That you are nothing more than a mere puppet for Sibyl's entertainment. You Inspectors label those Enforcers of yours as animals, dogs even. Perhaps it's more accurate to claim YOU as the hunting dog then that enforcer, Shinya Kougami..."

Just as Akane was neck-deep in the liquid, she spotted Yuki walking up and looking down at her from above. Just as one of Tsunemori's eyes were getting covered with red, Yuki mouthed something to her before she turned and began walking away. Akane forced a hand out of the thick blood for a moment, trying to gesture her friend to come back. Makishima replied with a swift stomp, forcing her arm back into the crimson with the rest of her body. As Akane completely drowned, she heard the serial murderer say one last thing,

"Continue to suffer in this endless ocean of the blood, Akane Tsunemori. The same blood you yourself caused to be spilled because you lacked the will to see the truth, as well as the proper resolve to make judgements for yourself. You can try and fight it all you like, but rest assured. You are eternally damned."

Just as Makishima's reflection from above the blood vanished, Akane heard "Farewell, Inspector." as her body sunk like a bolder.

 _I...can't breath.  
_

 _It's dark._

 _...I can't even move any part of my body._

Akane felt as if her entire being was made of fragile glass and it was shattering at the very core. Was this her punishment for letting Yuki die? Being here in this godforsaken place, drowning forever and ever?

The brunette shut her eyes, letting a few teardrops escape. As she continued to sink, Akane saw Yuki's face playing like a broken record over and over in her mind. Soon, the Inspector was so far near the ocean's depth that her figure was fading completely. Just as the darkness completely overtook, Akane had one final thought as she gave into her fate,

 _I'm so sorry...Yuki._

* * *

"Akane...Hey Akane!"

"Try giving the little missy a nudge."

"...Wake up!"

A force smacked against Akane's back. The woman's eyes shot open immediately. To her surprise, she could actually see her surroundings again. It took a minute before the female's vision blurred and cleared, revealing to her that she was in the MWPSB's cafeteria.

 _What...?_

Akane looked down to see that she was sitting at a table. On the tabletop sat a bowl of cold udon. The Inspector scratched her head, confused. What had she just been doing?

"Oi, little missy." Came a gruff man's voice.

Akane looked over to see Enforcers' Masaoka and Kagari standing there; some unusually concerned looks painted upon their faces.

"Eh?"

The orange-haired male pressed one of his hands to his boss's head, feeling for a temperature, "Geez, you okay, Akane? We were just coming in for our lunch break when we saw you sleeping at your table. Some of the other division officers were giving you some pretty freaked out looks so we decided to come over."

Akane's lips parted as if she were about to gasp silently.

"Not to mention you were talking and groaning an awful lot. You must have had one hell of a dream there, Inspector." Masaoka chimed in, taking the seat opposite to Akane's. When he noticed the girl's face fall, the older Enforcer smiled gently, "...Wanna talk about it?"

Kagari sat down in the seat right next to the distraught girl, "Yeah, I mean, it's no surprise you'd be having nightmares and stuff like that right now. After all, your friend did just kick the bu-"

"Oi!" Masaoka slammed his prosthetic hand onto the table, "Put a sock in it, would 'ya?"

Kagari sweat-dropped when he noticed his fellow hunting dog giving him such an angry glare; one in which made him recall the older man and Ginoza (who was always yelling at him) were blood related.

"Actually, if you both wouldn't mind, I think I'd rather be...left alone for the rest of my break." Akane mumbled, her face directed down at her lap, giving no indication that she had any desire to look either of them in the eye after they had heard her talking in her sleep.

Masaoka and Kagari exchanged somewhat distressed frowns before they stood up.

"If that's really what you want, Akane..." Kagari put his arms behind his head awkwardly before he began walking away, secretly wondering if he had made the cute officer feel even worst then before she had woken up from her nightmare.

Masaoka only took a few steps before stopping; his old eyes staring down at Akane's slumped over figure. It was rare for the ballsy Inspector to get down, but when she did; it was always hard on the Enforcer to see. Right now though, seemed to be one of the hardest times for Akane. It frustrated the detective that there was nothing he could do or say to cheer up the usually-so-innocent-and-bright girl.

Masaoka's eyes wandered away from Akane and caught sight of another figure just entering the cafeteria. His eyes flickered for a moment before they glanced back over to Tsunemori who had pulled her food bowl forward and begun poking at it with her chopsticks.

 _Maybe I can't do much for the missy..._ Masaoka began walking over to the figure of the person perfect for the job of consoling Akane, _But he should be able to..._

"Oi, Kou." Masaoka gestured at the raven-haired Enforcer who had just gotten in line for food.

"What's up, Pops." Kou turned, a cigarette resting his his mouth and arms crossed.

"I need you to do me a favor." Masaoka nodded his head in the direction of Akane's table, silently conveying his wish.

Shinya's ocean-colored orbs followed the nod. It didn't take long for the poker-face on the twenty-eight year old's face to fall completely into a deep frown.

Kou glanced back at Masaoka and nodded, "Got it." The man proceeded to walk away.

"She fell asleep at her table for a little bit. The Inspector seemed to have had a pretty messed up nightmare, I think." Masaoka noted, looking over his shoulder. When Kou looked back at him, Tomomi smiled painfully, "I didn't mention this to her but she was saying some pretty unnerving things during her sleep. Things like 'It's all my fault, Yuki' and 'Why didn't I just kill him when I had the chance'."

Kougami stared at Masaoka for a good minute before turning away and mumbling a quiet "...Okay." before walking away.

Masaoka watched Kou stand at Akane's table and the Inspector look at him. The smile on the Enforcer's face dropped before he shoved his hands in his pocket, "...Hopefully you can help her, Kou."

 ** _End ch 1_**

* * *

 ** _Author's Comments: So, this fic was originally supposed to only be a short, 4000 word fic. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE. But it ended up being over 10,000 words so I'm splitting it up into 2 chapters. Leave a review and let me know if you guys would want ch 2.  
_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_I just wanna do a quick reminder that this fic is set in s1. Some thought Akane was very OOC for this fic (and maybe I did screw her up) but back in s1, Akane was more emotional then she is in the current timeline of the series (when she's basically emotionless about nearly everything)  
_**

* * *

"Is something wrong, Kougami-san?" Akane felt as if she were a prey being watched by the eyes of a hawk. Kougami had just randomly come over to her table and stood there, no greeting or anything. He just...stared at her. Watched her as if he were looking for something.

It was another awkward minute or so before Kou let out a deep sigh and took a seat. Removing the cigarette from his lips, Shinya leaned back and returned his gaze on the higher ranked detective, "...You tell me, Inspector."

Akane blinked a couple times before raising a brow. What had gotten into him? It suddenly felt like all those other times in the past when Kou had lectured and comforted her. Why though? Like Kagari and Masaoka, had he noticed her napping on her break and overheard her speaking in her sleep? Or had he just walked in and was instantly able to pick up on how she was feeling at this current moment?

...No. Even if he had, it didn't mean anything. So what. That didn't matter. All Akane knew is that she wanted to be left alone for now. Her state of mind was still completely focused on that nightmare and Yuki, so she didn't feel like listening to Kou talk. Even if it was for her sake. After everything she had just heard in that dream, Akane was the last person on the planet who deserved any kind words or consoling. Like Makishima had said, suffering and living with the guilt of Yuki's death would be her eternal punishment; and there was no escape from it. She had no right to feel better. None whatsoever.

"Sorry, Kougami-san," Akane began, directing her gaze back to her noodles. Her hands that rested in her lap balled up into tight fists, "I...think I'd like to...be alo-"

"Don't give me that."

Akane jumped in her seat at how firm Kou's tone was. Shaking where she sat, the young woman glanced up through her bangs. Her lips tightened together when she saw Kougami looking at her with what felt like a pissed off glare. Then again, he always looked like that.

"Inspector."

Akane lowered her head back down, avoiding any eye contact, "...What?"

"Look at me." He ordered strongly.

The girl's fists clenched even tighter together. Her eyes shut completely so that she wasn't looking at anything. However, the moment she did, the horrifying figure of Yuki scratching away at her maggot-filled neck returned. Akane gasped loudly before her face shot up. Her eyes immediately locked with Kougami's. His expressed intensified when he saw the uncharacteristic, unimaginable fear painted on her pale face. Shinya was sure he'd never seen the naive girl look so terrified before. As he looked closer, Kou could see tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

Kougami returned his cigarette to his lips for another puff and looked around. There were a lot of people in the cafeteria. Too many for them to have a proper conversation here.

Rising from the chair, Kougami grabbed onto one of Akane's hands and firmly pulled. The Inspector was swiped from her seat before she could even ask what he was doing. Kou kept hold of the hurting woman's hand and began dragging her towards the cafeteria's exit.

"W-Wait, Kougami-san-" Akane tripped over her own feet and fell forward. Just before she could drop face-first into the floor, Kou spun around and caught her with ease. She remained there in his hold for nearly a minute before she finally looked up with an expression that was similar to that of a scared puppy.

Kougami peered down at Akane through long eyelashes before he helped her stand back up straight. He retook her hand in his and turned, "...Come with me." Was all the Enforcing detective said before the two made their way to the hallway's elevator.

* * *

 _Of all the places Kougami-san could have brought me, he chooses his apartment._ Akane thought to herself as she took a seat in one of the black chairs sitting in his living room.

"...Thirsty?" Kougami asked from across the room, removing his jacket and tossing it aside.

Akane shook her head, still avoiding his gaze, "No, thank you."

Kougami sighed again as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. After downing the liquid in one gulp, the handsome male dropped himself down onto the couch that was placed in front of Akane. Once he had relaxed, Shinya lit another cigarette. After taking a few puffs, smoke leaked out from the corners of his lips. The smoke made its way over to Akane, tickling her nose and mouth. When Akane got a big whiff of it, she couldn't stop herself from going into a short choking fit. Kou sweated a bit as his fellow safety bureau worker hacked away. After a minute though, it seemed as if Akane's coughs had turned into something more than just mere choking. Her breath had returned to her but she still gasped and moaned as if she were in pain. Her hands clenched tightly together in her lap as her mouth remained open and trembling.

A small drop of water fell from the eyes that were being covered by Akane's bangs. Shinya leaned over and shoved his cigarette into the nearby ash tray, his eyebrows furrowing downward as he did so.

"Normally I don't pry when it comes to others personal feelings," The serious man began, standing up and stretching his long legs, "...but in this case, it's...too unnerving to just sit back and watch." Kougami made his way over to Akane's chair. Without warning, the handsome male leaned his thigh and hip against the side of the furniture. When he noticed Akane tense up at his being so close, Kou let his gaze fall to something else in the room other than her, "...Talk to me, Inspector."

Akane lifted her face just barely, but just enough for the red on her cheeks to be blatantly obvious to see now. Her lips parted open for a second before they shut again, the girl forcing herself to keep quiet. Tsunemori didn't quite understand it herself, but for some reason Akane felt as if she should keep her traumatic nightmare to herself. Usually whenever Kougami tried to comfort her, the Inspector would give in and lean on him upon his asking. This time however...she couldn't.

A couple days ago, back when Kou was still in the hospital for his gunshot wounds, she had told him how she wouldn't "mope around forever" and even preached to him about how she wouldn't let anything get in her way of assisting in the capture of Shougo Makishima's head. She couldn't afford to suddenly dump all her depressed feelings, much less disturbing dreams to the Enforcer. He had his own demons to fight and own battles to face. Not only that but Akane knew that Kou, as well as the others, had been watching her nearly every second since she had returned to work after Yuki's murder. She knew they were all concerned for her. Technically speaking though, they were probably more worried about her psycho pass rising than anything else.

"Talk about what, Kougami-san?" Akane mumbled, playing dumb as she faked a smile, "I don't know what you're-" Akane's eyes grew to intense size when she looked up and saw that Kougami's face was suddenly right in front of her's.

Removing himself from the side of the chair, Shinya had bent over so that he could reach her current height almost exactly. Their eyes were locked with each other now, meaning the female officer could no longer avoid him, much less try to lie.

"Don't bullshit me, Tsunemori." His tone reminded Akane of a growling hound, rough and stern. It was obvious Kou was becoming aggravated with her.

Just as the stubborn brunette went to argue with him, Kougami's glare silenced her in an instant. Akane backed off like a frightened puppy, returning her eyes to the floor. She heard the floor creek, telling her Kougami had finally moved away. She sighed quietly to herself as she shut her eyes, feeling an odd relief for but only a moment.

 ** _"It's all your fault."_**

Akane eyes shot open with terror at the mental image of Yuki that had just returned yet again. Every time she shut her eyes, Yuki was there. Every second the Inspector let her mind wander, Yuki appeared with those horrible, bleeding eyes, forcing her line of thinking to come back to her best friend's murder. Every single second Akane began to feel that she was finally able to calm down, Yuki's cries echoed in the back of the woman's mind like nails against a chalkboard.

Kougami was walking back over to the couch and had his back turned when finally, Akane spoke up,

"...It won't stop."

The smoker looked over his shoulder to glance back at Akane. His sapphire eyes flinched when he saw the horrifying look on Akane's face. He had seen that expression before. Dark, depressed eyes that almost looked like a dead person's. Bags of stress lying under them. A mix of thin tears and beads of sweat streaming down a pale, almost ghost-white face. All of the latent criminals who had had a mental breakdown or underwent an emotional trauma wore that face at some point. Kougami never thought he'd see the mentally stable Akane Tsunemori wear it.

Out of concern or perhaps more curiosity, Kougami lifted his watch and did a quick scan of Akane's hue. It surprised the metaphorical dog yet it also didn't surprise him when he saw what the girl's psycho pass was:

Barely over thirty. Nowhere near going over regulation. There Akane sat, feeling all the agony in the world, and her hue didn't seem to reflect her emotions at all. If it had been anybody else in her position, their hue would have become so dark by this point, they'd be sent to the madhouse before the trigger of a Dominator could be pulled.

When the short-haired woman spotted Kou looking at his watch, she let out an awkward chuckle, "My hue isn't anywhere near clouding, right? It's the same as always, isn't it?"

Kougami turned off the holo screen and looked back at his boss, "Inspector-"

Akane's lips remained curled upward in that same weird, forced grin. She had thought she didn't want to dump any of her problems on Shinya this time around. But before she even knew it, Akane blurted out, "You'd think with how I let Yuki die so horribly, my hue could at least darken a little bit. I mean, that would only be fair, don't you think?"

Like earlier on, the calm look on Kou's face vanished. His heart clenched tightly when Akane's pained grin grew.

Shutting her eyes and smiling, Akane felt another tear fall to her skirt. Yuki flashed once more in her mind, her screaming face burning itself into the Inspector's memory.

 ** _"Why didn't you save me?!"_**

Before Akane knew it, her soft crying fit had become a powerful sobbing fit. Her nose and cheeks were such a shade of red now, it almost put Shion's lipstick to shame. Her eyes had dark circles under them. Her bangs shaded the top portion of her face. Hiccups continuously escaped from Akane as she sat there. The whole time, the Inspector forced the same smile through her tears as Kougami watched her with more emotion than what he ever normally showed to people.

 _Pops wasn't kidding when he said she had one of hell of a nightmare..._ Kougami thought to himself, clenching his teeth together and scowling. As she was now, Akane was being far more openly emotional now than she had ever been, compared to all the other times he had caught onto her being sad or depressed. It didn't come as a complete shock though. The night Yuki died, Akane cried like a baby the moment his hand reached out and touched her. Then, a few days later when she visited him in the hospital, Tsunemori was...unnervingly calm. Now all the things she had kept bottled up, coupled with whatever horrible things she had witnessed in her dream, were raging a storm inside the ballsy but fragile girl.

...And Kougami couldn't stand it.

A hand rained down and bonked Akane right in the middle of her forward. The tears ceased falling as Akane looked up at Kougami who now stood directly over her, his hand formed into half a fist. She didn't have to speak for him to know what she was going to say. However, instead of answering her out loud, Kou let his hand fall again. Instead of directing it at her forehead again though, the tips of his knuckles found their way to the corner of one of Akane's watery eyes. The Enforcer gently whipped his skin against her's, destroying a tear that had been readying itself to fall.

For a minute, Kou just looked down at her. Down at the girl who, despite what her psycho pass was claiming, looked as if she would shatter into a million pieces at any given moment. From the first night he had known her, Shinya hadn't be able to stand seeing Akane upset in any way. If asked, he wouldn't be able to explain why. Every single time he had seen her acting even remotely off from her usual self, he made it his mission to cheer her up in any way he could. If someone told him to stop, he probably wouldn't. Words couldn't explain it.

Right now, the hunting dog was just doing what he had always done: being there for his master. He would continue to do so until Akane was completely fine again, no matter how long it would take.

The crying girl's eyes trembled as she looked up at Kougami who was looking at her the same way he always did. Despite his calm demeanor, Akane could see that Kou had no desire to give up on consoling her yet. Even though she was being so difficult, using such an obvious ploy to avoid telling him the reason for her feelings...the Enforcer still stood there, not growing impatient with her at all. He just stayed near her, wiping her wet cheeks and keeping silent as she let it out.

Akane's lips began to form something between her gasps, "...Kou...ga...mi-"

 ** _"You don't deserve to feel relief, Akane."_**

Yuki's voice called out to her from the back of her mind; the tone raspy and cold as ice.

Akane bit her lip as she tried forcing her face back towards the floor. Before she could however, Tsunemori's face was grabbed by the tip of her chin and held upwards.

"Don't look away." Kougami quietly ordered, keeping his thumb and finger around her chin, "It's fine. Just take your time. When you're ready to talk about it, I'll listen."

Akane's mouth opened, revealing her teeth pressing together. Her pupils shook and became smaller as she looked directly at Shinya but heard Yuki continuing to scream out in her head.

 _ **"You let me die. You should suffer."**_

 _ **"This is your punishment, Akane."**_

 _ **"If your hue won't cloud, I'll just keep sticking around. I'll haunt you until you die."**_

Akane extended a hand towards Kougami's, but just before she could make contact, her arm froze up. Her hand remained raised, shaking like mad as if it were in pain like her heart was. The Inspector was just about to let her hand fall when Kougami suddenly grabbed it with his own.

"I..." Akane began, choking back tears.

Kougami simply gently nodded at her.

Akane shut her eyes tightly, unable to it all in anymore, "I had...a nightmare...and now...Yuki won't s-stop..."

Kougami looked down at the coffee table that was in front of Akane's chair. After pushing some books that had been resting on it aside, the man sat down and began listening to Akane describe the entire dream to him; even the parts with Makishima.

After ten grueling minutes, Akane had told Kougami literally every detail of the dream, including even the embarrassing part about Yuki speaking to her in the back of her mind, like a hateful ghost.

"I see." Was the first thing he said, picking up a box of tissues that sat beside him on the table. Pulling one out, Kou handed the tear-wiper to Akane whole dabbed it against her cheeks, "It's no shocker you're so upset."

"The problem is..." Akane sniffled loudly before wiping her eyes again, "...everything that Yuki told me in the dream was true. I mean, I could have shot Makishima. I could have KILLED him. Then Yuki would have-"

"Do you think killing him would have helped you feel any better about that night?"

Akane frowned, startled.

Kougami's eyes ran down from Akane's face to the hand that was holding onto the damp tissue, "If you had killed Makishima and drenched your hands in blood like that, do you think you'd be sleeping any better then what you are now? You're the type of person who finds any and every life precious. Even a scumbag like Makishima."

Akane looked away, feeling a wash of guilt come over her again. However, Kougami put a stop to that as soon as it came.

"That's not necessarily a bad thing, Inspector." Kougami balanced his cheek in one of his hands as his elbow rested on his raises kneecap that was being procured by his foot against the tip of the table, "All's I'm saying is, your killing Makishima probably wouldn't have helped all that much. Yes, Yuki would still be around and kicking; but you'd still have to live with the guilt of murdering somebody, which I don't want you to ever experience as long as your working in this field. As odd as that may sound, coming from a hunting dog like myself."

The voice of Yuki died down in volume for a brief moment in Akane's head. She wasn't sure if what Kougami was saying was exactly true. Wouldn't it still have been better if she had killed Makishima? So what if she would have felt guilty over that? At least then Yuki wouldn't have been...

"I can tell what you're thinking." Kou began with a silent groan. Suddenly, the man rose from the table and began walking away. For a moment, Akane wondered if he had gotten fed up with her. However, right as she thought that, Shinya looked over his shoulder and muttered, "Wait here for a minute."

Kougami then disappeared into the next room. As the woman waited there, uncomfortably and silent; she began to hear the cries of Yuki from that night echo loudly in her ears again, loud enough as if she were instantly transported back to that same evening in that underground maze where Makishima held Yuki on the bridge above Akane's trembling, helpless figure.

Akane could feel the anxiety from earlier returning to her. The Inspector bent over, her face directing itself at her lap as her hands clenched between her ears and some strands of hair. Her teeth clenched tightly as her eyes shook. However, this time, she didn't cry. Tsunemori knew that there had never been a time in her life where she had cried so much other then earlier. She must have used up all the tears she had for a lifetime right then. That or perhaps she had just gotten used to the shaking of her nerves by now.

"Here."

Akane's face shot up when she suddenly heard Kou's voice from beside her. Akane's eyes analyzed him for a moment, almost frightened by the fact that she hadn't heard him return at all. Either the more experienced detective was just good at hiding his presence or she truly was out of it.

Kougami waved something at Akane's face, calmly and silently telling her to take it. Akane complied, directing her gaze down at the object. It was a photograph. A man with short brown hair wearing a suit and a cigarette in his mouth was on it. Beside him was the figure of a younger Kougami, who was simply glancing at the camera from afar.

"This man..."

"It's Sasayama," Kougami said, returning to his previous seat, "Remember I told you about him before?"

Akane nodded, shortly recalling back to learning about the specimen case that ended with Sasayama's death and the capture of Kozaburo Touma, the mastermind behind the case as well as the one Shougo Makishima assisted with the crime. Kougami had been surprisingly volunteering with the details about his late best friend's murder. To add to Akane's surprise, the way Kougami had spoken about him and the things he said proved the two had indeed been quite close. Sometimes the Inspector wondered if Sasayama had been the only person Kougami had even been that close to in his entire life.

"Why are you showing me this?" Akane finally asked, eying the Enforcer with a hint of pity.

The raven haired male tapped away at his cigarette box for the third time, popping another one of the small smoking sticks in between his lips. Pulling the lighter from his pocket, Kougami lit the cigarette and inhaled largely; much more so then normal.

"When I found Sasayama's body, his body parts were rearranged all over. His form reeked of blood and filth. The smell was so horrible, it was enough to make even me gag. Course that wasn't the worst part," Kougami removed the cigarette and let his beautiful eyes fall to the center of the coffee table, "His corpse, that lifeless face. His eyes were completely rolled back in his head. His mouth was wide open and..."

Akane clenched the photo in her hand when he trailed off, wondering if the reason for it was because it was getting too hard for Shinya to talk about such a horrible memory.

"Kougami, you don't-"

Shinya bent his fingers back and made a fist, the cigarette in his palm being crushed tightly by the force. The male with the clouded hue continued his speech, despite himself, "Seeing his body like that, not being able to do anything to stop it from happening...being forced to live with the fact that Sasayama died because I hadn't done my job properly. These things were all just a few reasons my psycho pass ended up clouding so bad, Tsunemori." Kougami looked back towards the girl with a look more serious then even his usual expressions.

Akane felt herself sweating, trying to think of something to say. It was rare for Kougami to get this personal about his past so she couldn't just remain silent.

"B-But it wasn't your fault, Kougami-san," Akane stuttered, looking at Sasayama in the picture and then back to Shinya, "I mean, you did your best. There was no way you could have predicted that horrible fate would have befell your friend."

Kougami shut his eyes as if he were thinking to himself, "Even so, point is that Sasayama still died. He still got his life taken from him way sooner then he should have. I've lost sleep, thinking about a lot of 'what ifs' over the years. What if I had been with Sasayama when he'd been captured. What if I would have found and arrested either Touma or Makishima back before they got to him. What if I would have pulled Sasayama from the case. You're not the only one here who's had a nightmare or two over their friend's murder."

Akane bit her lip when her brown eyes locked with Kougami's blue ones that had a hint of grey in them. It was painful to hear him. In all honestly, Akane had only been thinking about her own regrets and Yuki's dying all this time. While she had realized Makishima had been the reason for both of their friends dying, the thought had completely slipped her mind since having that dream.

"I..." Akane ran her fingers over the photograph, her fingertips just lightly touching Sasayama's figure, "I'm sorry, Kougami..."

"Don't see what you're apologizing for." Came Kougami's cold tone as her placed the crumpled cigarette into the ash tray with all the others, "I was just saying I know what you're going through."

Akane carefully placed the picture onto the table and slid it across, returning it to the person across from her, "This may be a stupid question, but if you don't mind my asking..." The short-haired female glanced at Kougami's poker face, making sure he wasn't irritated with her just yet. When the man nodded, Akane let out a thankful and brief smile, "You said you had nightmares and often thought about the past too. Do you still do that? If so, how do you deal with it?"

"Come with me." Kougami suddenly ordered, motioning with his hands to have her follow him.

Before Akane could respond, the strong male was swiftly pulling her up from her seat.

* * *

"Just so you know, you're the only person I've shown this room to. Don't tell Gino. He'd get on my case if he found out."

Akane was speechless. All she could do was look around the every one of the walls in the room that were completely covered ceiling-to-floor with photographs, papers, news articles, and maps with markings on them. The girl nervously walked up to the middle wall, curious to get a closer look. In the center was the blurry picture of Makishima that Kougami had shown her once before. Seeing that photo was how Akane had been able to identify Yuki's killer so quickly.

Kougami shoved his hands into his pocket as he began walking around the room, looking back over all the things on his walls, "This room is the result of losing Sasayama in the field." Shinya stopped to stare at a different picture of his late best friend. In it, he was looking over his shoulder and grinning from ear-to-ear like an idiot. Kougami shut his eyes, thinking back to the past again, "Everything you see here has served as a constant reminder to myself. Every time it feels like things are getting too tough, this room pushes me to work harder, and to keep going until I take out Shougo Makishima."

Akane placed the tips of her fingers on a photograph with Kougami, Sasayama, and Ginoza in it. Her skin caressed with the form of the younger Shinya, his face reflecting in Akane's eyes as she stared.

"So in answer to your questions from earlier," Kougami walked over to stand beside his boss, "...this is how I deal. Of course this doesn't mean this is how you have to handle Yuki's death."

Akane's hand returned to her side. Her eyes began falling down to the desk that was placed under the pictures and papers clinging to the wall.

Then how should she deal with it? Both her emotional and mental states were becoming darker by the minute, so then...what other ways were there to cope?

"There's something else I want to tell you, Inspector." Kougami balanced his back against the desk and looked down at Akane, "First, a question. In your nightmare, it sounds like Yuki was angry and spiteful about you considering what happened. So then, my question is...do you think that's how your friend would really feel about her tragic passing?"

Akane's eyes flinched. She hadn't really thought about that since the dream. She knew the Yuki of her nightmare acted completely different from the Yuki she had known back when she was alive. Still, it would make sense to assume that Yuki would be upset about her murder. If she could return to life for even just one minute, what would Yuki really say to Akane?

"You kept saying how frightening and mad Yuki seems every time you see her in your mind, screaming at you and guilt-tripping you at every turn. That's why you've been having doubts and haven't be able to get a moment's peace."

All Akane could say was "Yeah..." to the serious male before her who seemed to be glaring at her.

"Given that, there's something I remember her telling me back when I found her in that abandoned train underground. It was when we had just started through that maze. I should have told you this much earlier, so I apologize."

Akane anxiously waited to hear just what it was Yuki had said about her behind her back.

"'She was always special, even when we were in school together. No matter how bad the problem was, as soon as she intervened; it was resolved. I wonder about the other people with the clearest psycho pass hues. Do you think they're amazing as friends as she is?'"

Akane's figure twitched before her head shot up, a look of surprise in her shimmering eyes, "...Yuki...really said that about me? You're not just saying that?"

"That's what she said, word-for-word. I swear on my right as an Enforcer." Kougami said, leaning his head back and looking up at the ceiling, "We weren't together for that long, but while she was with me; I get the feeling that Funahara thought pretty highly of you. You two had been good friends for years right?"

Akane covered her mouth, trying to suppress the urge to cry again. Through her building up emotions, she nodded violently.

Kougami smirked lightly to himself when his eyes fell back on the Inspector, "Then, you see? I find it hard to believe that she would come to hate you so intensely, even after her death. I'm sure she had some regrets when she died. I'm sure Yuki was scared and didn't want to fall like that. However, the one thing I don't believe is that at the very end, Yuki ever, for even a second, hated you, Akane."

Tsunemori blinked through her tears, her cheeks turning a little rosy at the fact that Kougami just called her by her first name. It had been the second time he had done it since meeting her. The first back when he had been laying half unconscious in that maze with bullets in him. Even so, something so small was enough to make the maiden's heart skip a beat.

Akane shut her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself down before Kougami pointed out her red cheeks. However, the thought of her face was immediately thrown aside when the form of Yuki appeared in Akane's mind again. However, this time, Yuki wasn't battered or bruised or looking at her with tears of blood raining down her cheeks. Instead, Yuki stood there, wearing her nightgown and her hair down. The most surprising thing of all was that a smile was painted on Funahara's face. Not a fake one, but a genuine, kind, caring smile. The same type of smile Akane recalled Yuki always looking best with.

Before Akane could call out to her, Yuki stepped forward and lifted her hands up. All of a sudden, Akane felt her body being pulled forward. Before she knew it, Yuki had wrapped her arms around Akane, hugging her.

Akane stayed there, in her friend's embrace, feeling complete awe. Without thinking, Akane began to put her arms around Yuki, about to return the hug. However, just before her hands could touch Yuki's back, the voice of her friend made her body go numb.

 ** _"It's okay, Akane. I'm not mad, okay? I mean, come on."_**

Yuki's embrace around Akane tightened as she hugged harder.

 ** _"I know how frightened you were back then. For someone as so usually calm as you, the fact that you became so upset for my sake is pretty comforting. I know how hard you tried to stop that man from killing me. I just couldn't tell you that at the time of course."_**

Yuki petted the back of Akane's head gently. The orange-haired female's smile grew warmer when she heard Akane hiccup. The ghost moved her hand down and patted her friend's back in comfort as she chuckled lightly,

 ** _"I mean, sure it sucks I had to die. I never dreamed I'd lose my life like that. But even so, I don't want you to keep blaming yourself for what happened. I'm dead, but that doesn't mean you have to feel like you deserve to be too."_**

Yuki's smile faded for a moment, a serious look appearing in her eyes as her arms gripped harder, almost making Akane choke. _  
_

 ** _"You know, there was always one thing I didn't like about you, Akane."_**

Akane lifted her head in surprise. For a moment, the Inspector was sure Yuki would turn back into that shadow version of her. The one that hated and spit at the thought of her. The one that wanted her dead for what happened to her. However, to Akane's shock, Yuki's voice didn't grow hoarse or cry out in madness.

Yuki broke from the hug and cupped Akane's face with both of her hands, her chestnut eyes tearing up a bit themselves,

 ** _"...I never liked seeing you upset, you dummy!"_**

Akane's cheeks turned an even brighter red now as tears flowed down like a mighty waterfall from the detective's eyes.

Suddenly a white light began radiating from around Yuki's figure. The smile on Akane's friend's face suddenly became a little sad when she took her hands off Akane.

 ** _"Oh damn. Looks like I have to go now, Akane..."_**

Right then, Yuki's body began growing farther away from Akane without her body even moving any of its limbs. Akane gasped and tried to give chase. However, her efforts were futile. No matter how hard or fast the Inspector ran, she couldn't catch up to or get any closer to Yuki. As the beautiful woman disappeared into the white light, Akane saw Yuki wave at her and shout,

 ** _"Please be happy for the both of us, Akane! Don't let my death cause you any more pain than it already has! Also..."_**

Akane finally stopped running as Yuki's face and body vanished into the white behind her,

 ** _"That Shinya Kougami is pretty hot! You should totally go out with him! Screw what the law says!"_**

Akane's expression went almost comedic, the embarrassment showing more clearly on her face then it ever had. Akane shouted back at her friend, "That was completely unnecessary, Yu-"

The white that enveloped Yuki instantly flashed in what seemed like a large explosion, completely blinding Akane until she fell backwards.

* * *

"Inspector...Inspector, wake up."

"...E-Eh?" Akane's body suddenly jolted when she felt something tap against her cheek. Her eyes opened only to find Shinya Kougami leaning there in front of her, his face dangerously close to her own.

"K-KOUGAMI-SAN!"

"Oi-"

 **-THUMP!-**

Kougami sweated as he got down and helped Akane off the floor, "That was one hell of a fall you just had, Inspector. I'd say that was a talent in it of itself."

Akane rubbed her head painfully as she was assisted back into the chair she had just been apparently sleeping in, "I wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't scared me, Kougami..."

"Sorry." Was all Shinya said before turning around and picking up something from the table. When he turned back around, Akane spotted a cup of hot coffee in his hand.

She took the cup when offered but still frowned, confused, "When did I fall asleep? I don't remember..."

"After I told you about Yuki, we came back in here and you fell asleep almost as soon as you sat down. Guess all the crying tired you out."

"O-Oh..." Akane mumbled, scratching her head, "Then all that was..."

"Here."

Akane looked down to see Kougami holding another tissue out to her.

The brown haired woman blinked but took it gratefully, "Um...thank you?"

Kougami pointed to the corner of his lips, "You've got some drool."

"E-Excuse me...!" Akane sprung up from her seat and spun around before she began wiping the saliva off her chin and bottom lip. After she gotten it completely off, it took the blushing girl a minute to contain herself before she was able to bring herself to turn back around. When she did finally, the sight before her was enough to make her cheeks flush right back to being pink.

Kougami was sitting there, smiling directly at her. His eyes amused by her reaction. One of his hands was being propped up by the chair's arm and his hand lingered in front of his mouth, "Never seen you react quite like that before. Almost wish I had a camera. I'm sure Kagari would have gotten a kick or two out of your face just now."

Akane played with the tissue, furrowing her small brows, "Well, excuse me if I don't normally sleep in front of others..."

"You also seem to be feeling better, Inspector." Kougami suddenly said, his hand falling to his lap but the smile remaining on his attractive face, "Good."

The twenty-year old frowned a moment before her lips curled upwards, "Yeah, I...had a really nice dream. I'm not hearing Yuki's hateful cries in the back of my head now either."

Kougami reached out for a bottle of water that was sitting on the table, "I see. I'm glad."

Akane's smile grew as she watched Kougami open the cap on the drink and sip some of the water.

"...I should be thanking you, Kougami-san."

Shinya ceased drinking and shot a weird look at the woman, "Hmm? Why? Not like I did anything."

Tsunemori's smile became bright and happy as her face flushed a little, "Because of what you told me. If it weren't for you, I'd still be kicking myself about what happened." Akane's eyes fell a moment, her smile falling serious, "Yuki's death is something I can't change, but I can't let that get in the way of getting Makishima. Arresting him and keeping him from committing more crimes is the least I can do for Yuki..." Akane glanced up and grinned again, "...and for Sasayama too."

Kougami's lips pulled completely away from the cap of the bottle in his hand. His blue eyes stared widely at Akane for a good minute before his mouth shut. Silently, the man stood up and walked over. As he hovered over Akane, the Inspector went to say something but was stopped by the large hand that roughly ran through her hair in a petting motion.

"K-Kougami-san..." Akane groaned, the force hurting her head a bit. However, when she looked up at saw Kougami sexily smirking at her, the female decided she didn't mind the pain and lowered her head, hiding another smile of her own.

The final words Yuki had said in Akane's dream rang out in her mind as she shut her eyes, seeing the smiling face of Yuki again. The same beautiful image of Yuki Funahara that Shinya Kougami had given back to her.

Both of them had lost two dear friends during their fieldwork. Ironically, the same man was linked to both tragedies; and that same man would never be forgiven by either of the detectives for the agony they had suffered due to his crimes. Both Akane and Kougami knew the other's pain all too well. It was for that reason, that Akane made two decisions that night.

One: She would get Shougo Makishima and avenge Yuki, no matter what.

Two: Akane would do whatever it took to help Kougami in any way, just as he had helped her.

 ** _End_**

* * *

 _ **Author's Comments: WHEW. This is totally my longest fic I've ever written. It's over 12,000 words for crying out loud! But I just couldn't help myself. Since this chapter was pretty much Shinkane, I just had to make it long. They're my number 1 OTP and I just can't help it TwT**_

 _ **Please leave a review and let me know what you think! If this one gets good feedback, maybe I'll write more Psycho Pass fanfiction in the future. Thanks for reading, minna!**_


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